Elsword: Velder Private Academy!
by Debutante Pink
Summary: Chapter 4 summary- Exciting day of Homecoming! But Aisha and Elsword are somewhere else- how suspicous! And the voyage to White Mist Swamp is coming soon. What will happen there? A Monkey King and giant tree?
1. Pilot! Dokki!

**Sami: hey guys! One direction is playing on the radio right now… LOVE~LOVE!  
Everyone: -.-"  
Sami: "So now let's get some…" YES! LET'S GET SOME!  
Aisha: Anyways, happy Friday!  
Sami: oh yeah… my Birthday is this Sunday.  
Eve: I bet you can't wait.  
Sami: Actually… I can. I have a 200 sprint swim meet on Sunday. It's only 8 laps, but at races, I use too much energy at the beginning.  
Elsword: heheh… Die and don't come back.  
Sami: eeeeh!? That's mean!  
Chung: Isn't there a hurricane alert for this weekend? Your meet will be canceled if that happens.  
Sami: REALLY!? LET'S ALL DO THE RAIN DANCE! *dances*  
-**

_Chapter 1_

I rested on the bed of my new dormitory in Velder high. The windows were slightly cracked open, exposing my room to the cool, smooth breeze. It was June tenth, but Velder kept in some of the spring drafts from May. Rain occasionally peeked through to my face, but I didn't mind. Where I came from, rain was as normal as sun in the sky. The air should be dense with heat, the wind so still that the grass was petrified in place. Here in Velder, however, large gusts of wind grasped the roots almost out of their soil. I wore a gray sweatshirt for the weather, with a small 'A' embroidered on my chest. It was cozy, something I would normally wear. But back in my home, I would wear lace spaghetti strap tank-tops, shorts that would barely show, and sandals. I missed the heat. I also missed home.

I was the kind of person who didn't like change. I was very comfortable with the town I lived in- warm, humid, and rainy. I knew only a few people, but I was immensely close to them. Every day, I would trudge to school, meet up with my friends and eat, go to the beach nearby, and laugh in the temperate waves. It was my typical fairytale life. But when I received an urgent letter requesting my presence in Velder, my smile faded.

On the northern peninsula of Eliros, near the cold, icy sea, laid a small town named Velder. Despite its size, it was one of the most violent settlements in the world. This town would prep young warriors for battle, and send them off to fight the demons attempting to infiltrate Eliros. Inside this bloody village, there was a newly built private school, recalling seven hundred warriors around the continent.

"Hello?" asked a young voice from outside of my door.

"Come in" I muffled.

The door creaked open, revealing a female elf. She wore a stylish jacket, and a sequined tee-shirt with skinny jeans. I immediately felt intimidated by her sense of fashion. She looked young, and was most likely a student.

"And who are you?" I said while sitting up-right.

"Rena. I'm from Ruben, it's nice to meet you." She stuck out one perfect, beautiful hand to me.

"I'm Aisha. It's nice to meet you too." I sounded bland, and I did not do such a great job concealing the bore in my voice. I shook her hand lightly, faking a smile on my face.

"So, how old are you, Aisha?" She sat in the chair next to my desk, facing to me.

"I'm fifteen. How old are you?"

She chuckled, hiding her face a bit behind her blond hair. "Don't you know it's rude to ask someone their age?"

"So that means you're older?" I guessed.

"Yes. But those numbers are undefined." She shot me a lovely, radiant smile.

"Sorry I asked." I snickered. She winked at me, and stood out of my chair.

"Aren't you going to the dining hall for lunch?"

"No, my day is already hectic. I need to unpack, so I'll just eat lunch in the dorm kitchen." It was not fully a lie. I had to unpack, and I'd prefer not to get any more stressed about my situation. But I would rather not be crammed in a room with hundreds of people.

"Well, I'll see you later." Rena shut my door quietly.

"Sure." I mumbled and slid under my bed covers as she left.

After a few minutes of failing to sleep, I stumbled out of my dorm. All of the girls must have left for the cafeteria, because it was so quiet that you could hear the wind blow outside.

I approached the dorm kitchen, yawning unattractively as I arrived. I went to the closet, finding many easy-to-cook foods. Cereal, Pop Tarts, Granola bars. They were about my cooking level. I lazily grabbed a Pop Tart, and shoved it in the toaster. I was a terrible cook, and always found some way to ruin my food. I wouldn't be surprised if my Pop- Tart was poisoned somehow.

"I didn't think anyone else would be here." I literally leaped half of my height.

"Neither did I?" I stuttered.

The anonymous girl laughed maniacally, and stepped from behind a wall to reveal her. I quickly analyzed her, and to my shock, she looked much like me. Her hair matched the purple shade of mine, but hers was shoulder length, curled at the edges. She held a stern look on her violet eyes, as if she hoped to blow me up with her mind. She wore a black and purple gothic lace top, wrinkling at her elbows. She had a short plaid skirt, accompanied with striped knee-socks. As for shoes, she wore black lace-up boots. Her outfit was very coordinated, while mine was bland and grey. I hid behind the counter, trying to conceal my horrible style.

"I assume, based on your clumsiness, you aren't here to study." She cackled.

She knew I was clumsy? Am I that easy to read?

"Was there anything to study?" I asked.

"Of course there is. But only the advanced students can comprehend it."

She placed a large textbook on the kitchen island, and sat on one of the bar chairs behind it.

"I understand you have the elemental affinity. Only the weak adapt that." She grimaced.

"As oppose to you, who has been gifted no affinity for anything?" I leaned into her face a bit, irritated by her stuck- up personality.

"I have affinity," she scoffed. "I have been welcomed by the devil for greater powers beyond this world."

Her strict, devious tone sent chills up my spine. She made a contract with the devil? That was unheard of. The only mages were known to be high magicians, who were gifted the power of the elements, or battle magicians, who were not gifted, and became engaged with combat. But combining power with the devil… the outcomes are unknown.

"Anyways, I'm Aisha." I held my hand out to her, but she just backed away.

"I'm Speka. I presume we will not be seeing each other further than the dorms." Speka laughed a little bit, obviously believing she was the smartest person here.

I shrugged, and slowly drew my hand back. Then I smelled a burning scent. My Pop- tart! I ran over to the toaster and threw out the Pop-tart, finding a burnt, black square.

"So I am correct. You aren't as sharp as you look, Aisha." Speka chuckled, tearing some in her eyes.

I scowled at her, and crawled over to my Pop-tart to inspect the damage.

"I'll be darned. You're actually a pretty funny girl." She smiled. I stifled a laugh when I heard an accent slip out; and curled into a ball to contain myself. She acted all tough, but it turns out that she was a little country girl.

"W-what is it?" Speka stuttered.

"Your… accent…" My face turned red with laughter.

Speka was flustered, and started screaming on the top of her lungs. She tried to cover it up, but it only made her slip out more of her accent.

"Don't worry. I think it's cool." I calmed her. "So, where are you from?"

"I come from the south. I grew up on the country side, so I adapted my accent. I try to hide it… but…" Her face grew red with embarrassment.

"Speka! It's okay!" I had to laugh at how serious she was taking this. "It's not that big of a deal."

Speka crossed her arms, and pursed her lips.

"Well, I spilled my history. Out with yours." She demanded.

"I'm also from the south, but not that southern. I was fine with my life there, but my parents forced me here." I sighed, and sat on the bench across to her so I could face her.

"My folks were worried about lettin' me go. I never had much of a life there, because I loved studying. I had few friends, most of 'em were professors. I was usually bullied for obsessing over academics, so I was eager to head out of there. I had to beg my parents for a whole month until they agreed to let me here." Speka fidgeted in her seat, probably aroused by a bad memory.

"Well I'm your friend." I winked at her, and smiled a bit.

"Ain't that a relief." She said, trying to hide her face. I saw a grin peak through her lips, and she sighed at the wall.

"So, tell me about this dark affinity. What do they call mages like that?" I asked, changing the subject.

"There aren't none like me. I'm the only mage tied with the devil. But they call me a 'dark mage'."

"But how did you receive this power?" I was curious. If dangerous people like her were roaming the schools, who knows what secrets some of the students hold.

"I was killed on a mission in Feita. Lento warned me wander into there, because the monsters were much more skilled than me." She paused, and twitched her eyebrows. "I reckoned it as a challenge. I immediately went to the dungeon, by myself. I was killed soon, but the devil had given me a second chance. He found me, floating amongst the other dead souls. But I didn't want to leave, you see. My heart was subconsciously trying to escape death. The devil said I was exactly what he was looking for. Strong- willed and daring. He arranged a meeting with me, and offered me immortality as well as unimaginable power…." She trailed off.

"But the devil doesn't give life for free. What was the condition?"

"I would be his eyes to the world."

I shuttered, wondering how it would be to be a body that hosted the devil.

"Is he… watching now?" I asked, trembling.

"No, he gives me the privacy I need. But he can easily overcome my control when I'm doing something suspicious." Speka stated. Her eyes were shivering with fright. She didn't want to be in this situation, but it was the only way out of death.

I opened my mouth to say more, but the dormitory wing doors slid open. A wave of girls poured in, chattering about dozens of topics. When I looked at Speka again, she held one finger up to her mouth, whispering, "Please keep quiet. I could get expelled for this." I slowly nodded and tiptoed to my dorm.

When I reached my room, I collapsed on my bed, thinking about many different things. Could I trust Speka? I couldn't turn my back on her, since she opened up to me. I can tell that she was hard to unravel. I sighed and stuffed my head in my pillow, exhausted with everything that I've learned today.

"Aisha!" sang a girl at my doorway.

I turned my head to the door, finding Rena, smiling as big as ever.

"You won't believe what happened at lunch today!" She exclaimed, dragging out 'believe'.

"Come at me." I mumbled, barely audible.

"I've already gotten twelve boys who asked me to homecoming!"

My eyes sprung wide open at her, and I really could not believe it.

"No way." I said, slowly sitting up-right on my bed. "In thirty minutes?"

"Yeah, but they were all so bland!" She sighed. "I did eye a cute blond boy, though. He said his name was Chung. But he's totally not my type. Too reserved!" she said while flipping her hair.

"But isn't homecoming in two months?"

"So?" She chuckled, and pulled out a slip of paper with various phone numbers on it.

"That…. Is interesting."

"You should have come! I could have hooked you up with some guys!"

"Its okay, Rena." I laughed softly, "I don't find much interest in boys." I said truthfully.

"Well, I'm sure you'll change your mind when you hear about all the boys I saw."

Rena spent the next three hours describing each detail of the boys, the campus, and all sorts of stuff that I tuned out of my ears. She then spent another hour, venting about all the things that bugged her.

"And then this one got down and- oh!" she exclaimed. "It's already time to eat?

I looked at the alarm clock in my room, and was relieved that I could escape her conversation.

"Well, see you in the dining hall, Aisha. Of course, unless you plan on skipping again." Rena laughed loudly as she exited my room.

Skipping would be a good idea, but I was severely hungry, and I'm sure the next thing I cook will burn down the dorm wing. I clumsily stood up, and staggered down the hall. The girls had left on the TV, which was playing some chick flick. Popcorn was scattered all over the floor, and nail polish was dripping on the couch. I sighed and started cleaning, then realized I was stalling to go to the dining hall. No! I thought to myself. Be brave. I had to degrade myself a bit for treating this like a milestone in history, but I got up and walked out the door.

The air was stunningly cold, causing me to shiver a bit. Even in my fluffy sweatshirt, I was very vulnerable to chilly weather. The path lights were lit up, which helped me not trip because of the dark sky. I was very clumsy, and often lost my balance. I quickly prayed that I wouldn't trip in the dining hall. That would be such a great way to start off my year.

My stomach had been growling the whole way here, but once I saw the hundreds of people in the hall, I immediately lost my appetite. I'm not superwoman! I thought, and hastily turned around to leave. But I saw Rena behind me, hold a big smile.

"You came, Aisha!" She said, as if it was monumental.

"Yeah… But, I'm not that hungry, and I have other things to do. So I'm just going to leave now." I lightly laughed, and inched to the door.

"What? You can't leave now! You just got here!" She demanded.

Rena slowly shoved me to the buffet in the head of the cafeteria, and smiled.

"My lunch table is right over there." She pointed at a crowded table, swarming with eager boys and laughing girls. Sure, I was popular in my home, but this place is completely different. Rena was the big popular girl here, thanks to many factors. She was sociable, pretty, flirty, and brave. I became popular at my old school by simply acting cool. This is a whole different game.

"Okay." I stuttered.

Rena fashionably strided away, as if she was in a catwalk. I swear that her hips are not supposed to move like that. When I approached the buffet, I became light headed at the sight of all the people. At least three dozen people were searching for the best food, shoving each other out of the way. I slowly got at the end of the line, firmly holding the table to make sure I did not faint. It sounds extreme, but I get anxiety attacks when I'm around to many people. All of these people made me want to puke.

After ten minutes of calming myself down, I reached the main course table. I grabbed a bottle of orange juice and darted out of the hall to the courtyard. I was in urgent need of fresh air. But when I looked forward, I saw at least a hundred people crowding in the courtyard, making me feel faint. I quickly regained my balance and inched to the fence, where there were only a few people. But when a dozen people circled me to introduce themselves, I lost it.

I crashed to the floor, hitting my head on the grass. My juice flew up into unknown space, and I saw stars. Too many words! Too many people! I remembered a forbidden memory, which was branded into my brain since I was eight. Even though my eyes were closed, I saw a hundred people's eyes crawling on my skin. I stood on a stage, the lights so hot that it brought sweat to my face. It was the night of the big school play, and I was the main role. I was supposed to sing a solo, and all of the eager eyes surrounded me. I was only eight, and I should have been blissfully singing. But the directors and actors had told me, "If you blow this, we'll never forgive you!" I swallowed hard. My mouth was unconsciously salivating, which wasn't a good sign. Whispers started spreading across the audience, confusion seeped into the eyes of everyone. The music was playing in the background, and it sounded like millions of miles away for me. 'Let's sing, let's dance, let's be crazy for a chance'. I tried to sing, but my voice was lost somewhere. 'Let's be silly, let's be happy, let's be funny like a bunny'. I squealed a bit, and heard laughs from the audience. 'We will laugh so hard that our insides come o-u-t!' I immediately fell to the floor, and started throwing up on the stage. Gasps and remarks were made through the audience, but I couldn't stop. When I was taken off stage, I heard the actors spitefully criticizing me. "This is all your fault!" "Never talk to me again!" or "Get out of here! You don't belong."

I gasped loudly when I regained consciousness. My eyes flung open, finding many people staring at me. Girls whispered at each other, and boys laughed. I put my hands on the floor to steady myself from falling again.

"This is yours." said a blond-haired boy. He handed me my orange juice, which must have fallen near him. He held a stern look on his face, as if this was a serious mission.

"Thanks…" I mumbled as I took my drink.

He nodded and walked away. Well that was odd. I thought to myself. I clumsily stood up, and made my way through the crowd. It was a good thing that boy was there, or I would have fainted again. The number of people in the hall and courtyard had massively increased, but I shrugged it off, and focused on not falling. As I scooted past the students, I slowly opened the door to leave. But someone screamed and jumped on me.

"Aisha!"

"What?" I stuttered. I turned my head, and was relieved to see it was Rena.

"Omygosh! What happened to you outside?" She gasped.

"I tripped and hit my head." I lied. But it sounded like something I would do, so she believed me.

"Are you okay? You should go back to the dorm!"

"Yeah, I'm going back now." I nodded and waved to her. She smiled, but had a worrisome look in her eyes.

"I'll be fine," I reassured her.

She crossed her arms and pouted at me. I faked a laugh, and then started running back to the dorm. I closed my eyes and tried to hide my blush. I can't believe I fainted on the first day! Rumors must be spreading like wildfire around the campus.

"Oof!" Escaped my mouth as I tumbled forward. I had tripped, no, bumped into someone as I was blindly running. I slowly opened my eyes and mouth to say sorry, but I was already standing when I did.

"Greetings, Aisha. I apologize for being in your way." said a monotone voice, coming from a pale girl. "I am -Prototype_001_Enhanced_Vengeance_Effective-. But the humans may refer to me as Eve."

"Hello, Eve. I'm sorry for bumping into you."I apologized.

"I detect no issue with my systems."

"So, are you… human?" I had to say. Eve obviously was abnormal, talking the way she did.

"Negative. -Prototype_001_Enhanced_Vengeance_Effective- is a nasod that has adapted the arts of mechanics, and has gathered the data for Code_Architecture."

"Interesting," I awkwardly said. "How did you know my name?"

"I have inserted all of the students' data into my system. I have also received knowledge of Aisha's negative factors."

"Negative factors?" I asked.

"Claustrophobia, Anxiety, and many other things, which my data states you would not understand. As for temporary factors; embarrassment, nausea, fatigue, and confusion." Stated Eve. I felt like I was being diagnosed by a doctor. Was it legal to know all of the things Eve does? Well, does the law apply to Eve?

"Tell me something I don't know." I chuckled lightly.

"You have an unsheltered fear of clowns."

That, I did not know. How were her systems so precise? That she knew more about me than I did?

"Nice to know." I shuttered."Does Aisha have any positive factors?" I said in third person.

"Strong elemental affinity."

"Only word on me." I sighed. "Well, I should go back to my dorm. I am feeling sick."

"Affirmative. Your leave is excused. Rest for 3.5 hours minimum, then you should be fine. I understand you have no fever, but a recent anxiety attack. Aisha will recover for school tomorrow if she follows Eve's directions."

I nodded, and slowly walked away. When I reached my dorm, I saw it was already 9:00. I groaned and slipped into my bed, not even caring about what I was wearing. Today was awful. And I'm sure tomorrow would be worse.

I woke up to the sound of cheering girls, laughing and frolicking through the dorm. It was morning, the time I had dreaded. I heard rain pat against the windows in a slow, rhythmic beat. I would love to stay here and sleep in, waking up at lunch. It was my normal schedule in the summer. But I had to go to what would probably be the worst day of my life.


	2. First day! Dokki!

**Everyone: happy birthday Sami!  
Sami: awww thanks *ridiculous smile*  
Eve: what happened in your swim meet?  
Sami: Hurricane Sandy didn't come yet. So I had to swim it -.- BUT! I got first place! But… I forgot to sprint. I forgot that I was on the last lap- I thought I was the second to last… heheh…  
Chung: Oh well. But why are you publishing a chapter now?  
Sami: I like writing my chapters around 3,500 words, and I publish a new chapter when I've finished the one after it. So I just finished chapter 3! Also, school is canceled tomorrow because of hurricane alerts! So (assuming we won't lose power) I'm going to write A LOT tomorrow.  
Everyone: Early happy Halloween! Let's hope the hurricane won't interfere with our trick or treating!**

I slipped on my uniform- a white polo shirt with a blue tie, and a short blue skirt that couldn't touch my knees. I put on the thick socks they provided, which reached the top of my calves. It would probably be the only thing to keep me warm in this weather. For shoes, I had a black pair of sneakers. When I walked out of my room, I was surprised to see that I fit in with the crowd of girls. Somehow, I had thought I would never look like one of them. This comforted me a bit.

I wallowed to the kitchen to make cereal, because there was no breakfast in the dining hall. Even if there was, it is not like I would go there. I avoided the clicks of eager girls, and ate my mush of cereal. I looked at my schedule- Mathematics, Physical Education, History, Family and Consumer Science, English, Science. I was usually bright in Math and English, but I was terrible in Gym. I nearly failed last year, because I could not get the sports to cooperate with me. In History, I would often sleep because the teachers were so boring. In FACS… I hated that class. I am a horrible cook, and FACS is just the class to prove it. Last year, when we made cake, I forgot to put in the flour. I ended up with a lopsided, disgusting glob, which was immediately thrown away. I also almost failed that class. Health was easy, there wasn't much to do. I was neutral about Science, because there wasn't anything out of the blue to say.

I left the dorms to go to math, often showered with little drops of rain. I was thoroughly soaked when I reached the academic wing. I fumbled into class, and removed my jacket. It was dripping with water, but protected my white uniform shirt. I hung up my sweater, and looked at the class. There were about twenty people in the room, leaving only a few open seats. The teacher sat in his desk, fiddling with some papers. I inched over to him.

"Hello… Where is my seat?" I asked.

"Name?"He grumbled.

"Aisha."

He pointed one wrinkled, old hand at the desk near a red-headed boy. I walked over to my seat, trying to act casual. As I sat down, the boy turned his head from me. He scooted his chair to the edge of his table, and started twirling his pencil. I had expected more lively patients, based on the last few people I have met. But I suppose I could use a quiet class.

"Welcome, class." exclaimed the teacher. "My name is Mr. Lowe. Today in class, we will discuss geometric theorems. I understand the majority of this class is freshmen. The others are idiotic upperclassmen."

I was startled by his blunt statement. I was a freshman, but he had just singled out all of the other students and called them stupid. I saw the eyes of half of the class twitch, obviously offended.

"Through the school year, we will discuss calculus, trigonometry, …"

I tuned out his voice and propped my elbow on my table. I rested my head on my fist, and adjusted my head so I could see the boy next to me. He had maroon hair, comfortably complementing his red eyes. He wore a white polo and blue tie, much like me, and navy slacks that cuffed at the edges. His eyes were sleepily aimed at his pencil. He was quite attractive, but reserved as well.

"This, I hope, you learned last year." said Mr. Lowe. "If not, you should immediately leave." I spotted a few students squirming in their chair, deciding whether to leave this intimidating class. But the boy next to me did not move, he did not even look alive. His eyes were locked in a stare, and his lips were tightly pursed.

"I will be handing out a class syllabus, which we will look over." Mr. Lowe walked down each lane of desks, and gave each student a paper. I quickly wrote 'Aisha' on the name line and 'High magician' on the class line. I stealthily peeked over to see the boy's paper. 'Elsword' was scribbled on the top, along with 'magic knight'. This boy was a magic knight? That meant he could manipulate runes and fire. His abilities were nowhere near mine, but I was still shocked at his affinity. I heard a light clank on the floor, and looked down to see Elsword's pencil between our chairs. I leaned down to get it, but did not realize he had done so, too. Our hands touched near the floor, which left me flustered. I slowly looked up to stare in his ruby eyes, while our hands still hovered above the pencil. We held a gaze for a moment, but I quickly retreated, embarrassed by this collision.

"Sorry." I stuttered, and sat up-right in my chair. I cautiously glanced over at him, and saw he had sat back in his chair, too. Elsword had left his pencil on the floor, worried that if he went to pick it up again, we would touch once more. I quietly leaned down to grab it, and placed it on his desk.

"Thank you." Elsword's voice was light and soothing, but silent.

"Mmm." I said, barely audible. I was afraid to carry a conversation, so I just stopped there.

The class lecture continued for the rest of the period, and the bell gave off I muted ring. I sighed in relief, slowly stood up, and left the classroom. I had not even said three words to Elsword, and I think he hates me.

I walked to the gymnasium wing, and stumbled into Gym. The room was enormous, containing a pool, rock climbing wall, yoga mats, mirrors, and a track outside. There were about thirty people, including Speka, Eve, and the blond boy from yesterday. I swiftly marched to Speka, and greeted her with a smile.

"What a relief you are in Gym with me. I thought I was going to die alone."

"I ain't gonna be surprised If I die." She chuckled.

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen." I winked at her.

The coach came in from his office, and stood in front of the students. He was very muscular, and had a large scar on his face.

"Hello," he shouted. "I am Banthus. Coach Banthus. This quarter, we will be focusing on Archery."

My favorite. I sarcastically thought to myself. I was always terrible with bows. When I was eight, and I was choosing my fighting class, I broke the bowstring six times during my archery presentation. I just hope I will not put an arrow in someone.

"I will show the males to their locker room, while Coach Chloe will show the females to theirs." Banthus lead the boys through a large wooden door, while the girls looked at Chloe. She seemed to have appeared out of thin air, since no one had seen her come in. She had a spiky ponytail, and a serious look on her face. Chloe quietly brought us to the spacious locker rooms, and assigned us our lockers. I took a few times to open mine, but quickly changed into our uniforms. We received a white sweatshirt, blue breather shorts, and white shoes. The outfit comfortably fit me, which was a big relief. I waited for Speka to finish changing, then we went outside to the field with the class.

"Now, then." yelled Banthus. "I will be pairing you up into boy-girl pairs." He took out a large clipboard, and went down the pairing list.

"Eve and Chung. Rena and Raven. Aisha and Elsword." What!? I nearly stood up to protest. Since when did Elsword get here? I look over, and saw Elsword approaching me. Why did I have to be paired with him, of all people? Could this day get any worse?

Banthus finished pairing the groups, and reviewed basic rules. Chloe demonstrated how to hold the bow and distributed one to each person. Each pair had a target, and we almost immediately started. I looked over at the people I knew to see how they were doing.

Rena was obviously a natural at it, shooting arrows so fast and accurate. Her face was relaxed, as if this was serenity for her. Eve shot arrows slowly, but dead on.

"What is the goal for this activity?" She had asked Banthus.

"Defeat the target, I guess" he cackled, rolling his head back. Eve nodded, and took an arrow to her bow. She stood, calculating, for moments. When Eve let the arrow fly, it swiftly punctured the target. She had aimed it at the weak point, so when it hit, the target collapsed into cloth and sand. The entire class, including Banthus, stared at Eve. She was amazing!

Chung was okay with the bow, but not as excellent as Rena and Eve. He kept the arrows in the interior of the target, but only hitting the bull's-eye when he was lucky. Speka had refused to participate, claiming that archery was 'a toxic sport, which contaminates the brains with negative energy'. I don't understand her logic there, but maybe the devil restricted her on this. Or maybe she is just as bad as me.

I held the bow wobbly, the arrow often slipping from my grasp. I sighed and rested the arrow at my side. The one shot I had managed to release had gone into the target, but the one next to mine. I looked at my partner, Elsword, and saw he had no problem with it. His muscles flexed when he drew back the string to his cheek, which I stared in awe at. His short sleeved shirt stopped at his forearms, exposing much soft skin. I shook my head slightly and closed my eyes, as if that would cut all of the weird things I was thinking of. When I opened them again to aim my bow, I saw Elsword in front of me.

"Are you having trouble with this?" He softly asked.

"To be honest, yes." I sighed, and looked up at him. How was he so tall? Or was I just short?

"Well, just hold it like this..." He awkwardly shifted my wrists and arms. His grip was firm, causing me to wince in shock.

Elsword gestured me to shoot, and I snapped out of my daze. I lightly pulled back the string, failing to reach my cheek. He gently put his hand on mine, and aided me to pull it back. His skin brushed against mine, and I sharply inhaled. Elsword had just made this sport so awkward for me.

I let the string fly from my fingers, sending the arrow through the wind. It hit the target, near the middle.

"Thanks," I mumbled, turning my head to the ground to hide my blush. "I'm Aisha, by the way."

"I know, Banthus said that when he paired us." Elsword chuckled.

"But I guess we haven't formally met"

"Yeah. I'm Elsword, magic knight."

"Aisha, high magician."

"You already said that," he laughed lightly, enchanting me.

"Sorry." I awkwardly said. I have no idea how to talk to people, let alone boys!

"So, where are you from?" I was so glad he was more outgoing than me. That weird introduction would have never ended.

"South" I am so retarted. I can barely say one word!

"I'm from the north."

"That's... Cold."

Elsword chuckled and turned his head to the side. The morning sunlight caressed his face, outlining each detail. Why did he captivate me so often that I could never actually speak? I wish I was not so easy to read...

"So you study magic?" I blurted. I wanted to slap myself for saying something so idiotic. He is a MAGIC knight. Of course he does!

"How did you know?" Elsword laughed and held his hand out. He stepped closer to me, as if to conceal something. A small rune of fire appeared in his hand, which blazed brightly near his fingers. I held out my hand near his, and created a petite fireball. The flames on top danced brilliantly, and I wanted to show him more of my talent. I formed the fire into a small figurine, and made it dance as if I was pulling on strings. I laughed lightly and blew out the fire. When I looked up at Elsword, he was absolutely staring in awe at me.

"How did you do that?" He eagerly asked.

"I blew it?"

"No, how did you form it into other things?"

"A whole lot of practice and burns." I chuckled.

"Can you teach me?" He practically begged. Elsword was heavily intrigued by my simple trick, and it was obvious that he wanted to learn everything about fire.

"Sure, I guess." I mumbled, hiding a smile. "But it can't be on campus, that's restricted. How about in the training area outside of the classes?"

"Of course." He smiled. I am so happy that he does not hate me. Science class won't be as weird now.

"So… do you have plans for homecoming?" I trembled and tried to focus on the bow. Elsword raised his eyebrow, but responded calmly.

"I don't intend to go. Dancing isn't really my thing."

"That makes two of us." I laughed, "So let's meet during homecoming? Can you come around ten pm?"

"That sounds good. Do you have a phone? It would be easier to text then. I'll probably be asleep at ten."

"Yeah…" I blushed heavily, and wrote my phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to him. He was asking for my number! "And homecoming is this Saturday, right?" I knew when it was, I just wanted to keep the conversation from being awkward.

"I think so," He scratched his head. "I don't really pay attention to that stuff."

"Okay." I stuttered. I slowly turned away and aimed my bow.

"Class, hit the showers." Banthus yelled, and I jumped a bit. We put down or weapons, and headed indoors. As I was walking to my locker in the locker room, Rena literally jumped on me. I tumbled down, and groaned. "What…"

"So are you hitting it with Elsword?" Rena kept me trapped down, so I could not move until I answered.

"That's none of your business." I hid my face.

"I'm not hearing a no!"

"I'm not saying a yes." I scowled at Rena, and then dragged the conversation to her. "What about Raven? Every boy you meet, you tend to like."

"Oh, Raven is so handsome! But he is the first boy I met that didn't ask me to homecoming." Rena whimpered, and climbed off of me. "And I really think he's my soul mate."

"Early assumption?" I joked. Picking up our stuff, we went to the showers. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw it. Even though the rest of the school was beautiful, they could not afford private showers. It was a room with several water spouts, and drains on the floor. There were no curtains, it was just a wet room with showers. I froze in place while Rena kept walking.

"Are you coming?" Rena casually said.

"I… I'm going to pass." I stumbled back, retreating from the hideous showers. Rena shrugged and started stripping off her clothes.

"Oh my god." I collapsed on Speka, panting from running so fast. "That was a nightmare."

"I know!" Speka shook her head. "Of all the places to underpay…"

We laughed, and collected our books. The bell rang a few minutes later, and I started heading to History. Chung was the only person I knew there, but he was pretty solitary. The teacher, Stella, began her lecture and used the entire class period. I had heard that Stella was harsh, and that fact was confirmed when I saw we had an essay due tomorrow. I slumped in my seat and rubbed my eyes. Too much had happened already, and an essay was just the thing to confuse my day even more. When class was over, I went to dreaded FACS. Our teacher was … a dog. He was barely audible, and I missed his name. That just proves that I am the worst cook in the world. I thought to myself. If a dog can cook better than me… I stared at the doorway and watched the students come in. I recognized only Rena and Raven, the boy she was ogling at in PE. Rena sat at the table I was at, and Raven did too, for the lack of seats in the class. Rena giggled, and started writing on a piece of paper that she soon passed to me. Passing notes… So she's that kind of girl. I flipped it open, and read the print.

"Isn't he hot? He's soooo going to be my homecoming date." Rena was such a hopeless romantic.

"xP" I simply replied. I'd rather not get into her fantasies.

"So, are you going to homecoming? I could hook you up with a certain someone~"

"No, I'm busy."

"Aw. But Elsword should go with you!"

"He's busy too…"

"So you asked!?" Oh, crap. I did not want to get that picture in her head.

"No! He just needed help with something."

"I see~" I sighed and started doodling on my books. It was just the first day, and too much was going on. The teacher-dog started muffling things as he drastically moved. I could not understand what he said, except for the occasional 'woof'. I had nothing better to do, so I worked on my History essay while Rena flirted with Raven. But I could not help peeking over at Raven every once in a while. It's not like I thought he was attractive or anything- he's way out of my league. It's just that he has a giant metal arm! Why would Rena like him? He was almost the opposite of her- he was quiet, serious, and reserved. Rena, on the other hand, was absolutely sociable, childish, and popular. I guess opposites attract? I overheard Rena whispering to Raven, asking all about him.

"So, Raven, are you single?" she giggled.

"No. I have a fiancée." I was shocked by his answer. He was engaged at that young? He could not be older than eighteen.

"Oh, phooey." Rena pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Where is she?"

"Dead." The stone cold expression on his face sent a chill up my spine.

"I'm sorry…" She was obviously shocked, and she drew back a bit.

"Why? It's not your fault." Rena shook her head, and held her hand out to Raven. She introduced herself, and they shook hands. But Raven kept a stare on Rena for a while, "What is it?" she asked.

"You… look just like her."Rena meekly smiled, and swept a strand of hair behind her ear. This is just like the anime… I thought to myself. I blankly remembered of how Elsword and I met this morning. How horrible.

"Goodbye, class." The teacher mumbled, and sipped his coffee. I looked up at the clock and saw how it was already the end of class. When the bell rang, I went to English, then Science. I knew no one there, and the teachers were so boring. I practically daydreamed through the entire class about my hometown, the memories I had there. The day ended quickly and I trudged back to the dorms, skipping lunch. On the way to my room, I saw Speka in the halls.

"You aren't eating?" I asked.

"No."

"Come to think of it, you didn't eat lunch yesterday… or dinner, or breakfast!"

Speka was taken aback, it was clear that she wanted to keep this a secret. "I eat! I just… don't like people! They can get me fired up so easily. And I was eatin' for the last meals!" She faked a giggle, and waved her hand. "Well, good night!"

"It's the afternoon."

"That's what I said!" Speka smiled, and shut her door fast. I stood still and tried to think of what was so weird with her. Eventually, I shrugged it off and went in my room. I started my homework, but was interrupted by a text.

'WHERE ARE YOU!?'

'who is this?' I tried to think of all the people who could be texting me now.

'RENA'

I sighed, and wrote, 'how did you get my number...'

'A certain someone gave it to me~' Elsword. That idiot!

'=.= bye I have HW and need to focus'

'boring xP'

I put down my phone and finished my essay. It was only 4:30, but I had nothing to do. So I fell asleep on my desk, thoughts swirling around my head. That's one day done with…


	3. Talon of the Phoenix! Dokki!

**Sami: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Sorry, I planned on publishing this the two days, but my dad refused to turn on the computer -.- He said it would be 'damaged' because of the hurricane…  
Aisha: *reading last chapter* "I expected more sociable patients…" What am I, a doctor?  
Eve: you misplaced many words….  
Sami: oh yeah! I've been writing chapters on my ipod, and uploading them. So…  
Chung: Spellcheck took a mind of its own.**

I awoke from a fitful sleep at midnight, and slipped out of my room. I stealthily tip-toed to the main room of the dorms, and was shocked when I saw someone there.

"Eve!?" I quietly exclaimed. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I do not sleep." Eve gracefully sipped a cup of tea, and pet her drones as if they were cats. "Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep." I sat down on the chair next to across from her, and tried to spark a conversation. "So, where are you from?"

"Eve is queen of the Nasod Kingdom."

I was bewildered, and blurted, "Really!? Why are you here?"

Eve laid one scornful eye on me and scolded, "You know not that the Nasods fell? Foolish child. I was once their queen. My loyal servants put me in hibernation as the Kingdom was demolished, to save my life. Elsword found me when my final sleep stage had ended."

"Elsword did?" my excitement faded. I forgot I was not the only one he knew.

"Subject has romantic attitude toward Elsword?"

"No! I was just surprised! I didn't know that stupid guy-"

"Yet she denies it! How amusing! No worries, I lack emotion. To Eve, Elsword is only a mere human. Haha." Her laugh at the end was so mechanical it scared me.

"I don't like him! Honestly! I just met him, and I think I hate him. Anyways, I should go to bed." I forged a yawn, hoping it would fool her.

I remained awake for five more hours, until the girls in the form started getting ready for school. I showered and changed, then went down to eat. Before I left, I barged into Speka's room to see if she would eat or not. When I opened the door, I saw an odd scene of her sticking pins in a voodoo doll!

"Ha!" She laughed as she put a pin through its head. "Suffer, my enemy-" Speka stared at me in horror when she saw me. "Howdy! I was just... Unpacking my housewarmings..." She fidgeted around and shoved her voodoo doll set under the bed.

"Sure. Did you eat? I brought you some cereal."

"Of course I ate. Silly." I could hear the lie in her response. I glared on her, and shoved her the cereal. When she took it, she looked at it in fear. Speka mumbled something inaudible, and picked up the spoon slowly. She ate one bite, then asked, "please excuse me, I need to go to the restroom." She went to the bathroom in her dorm room, and I soon heard horrible sounds of throwing up.

"Oh my god!" I rushed to the door, and found it was locked. "Speka, are you bulimic!?"

"Are you an idiot?" She croaked. "I'll see you in PE..."

My face was wrapped in terror, but I followed her instructions and went to school. When I made it to Math class, I saw Elsword and loudly plunked my books on the table.

"Idiot! You gave Rena my number." I stated, with a fiery look in my eyes.

"No I didn't. It's right here." He reached in his pocket, looking for it, but then removed his hands and shrugged. "You know, elves are skilled in theft." So she stole it? Rena is so sneaky.

"Well she sent me a hundred texts last night, and she's from the dorm across mine." I revealed my phone that was flooded with Rena's annoying messages.

"What am I supposed to do?" He grumbled, and crossed his arms in a childish way.

"You are so annoying." I scowled at him.

"You are so absurd." Elsword hissed back.

"Humph!" I sat down and turned my chair away from him. "I wanted a pleasant morning."

"Whatever." He was definitely not this rude yesterday. I just crossed my arms and huffed, hoping he would not hate me again. But his attitude seriously infuriated me!

Lowe walked in, and I turned my seat straight to him. I stealthily peaked over to Elsword. He had propped his legs up rudely on the desk, and was reading a book. Not any book, my favorite book.

"Talon of the Phoenix? I love that book!" Whenever it was raining or snowing outside, I would always read it next to the fire in my old home. I loved that book so much! But why was _he _reading it?

"Why are _you _reading it?" I put heavy emphasis on the you with a scornful tone.

"I'm not allowed to read?" He gave me a nasty look. "Well... In this book, it mentions a Phoenix made of fire that rises to the sun, then rushes to the ground."

I curiously looked at him. "Yeah, and?"

"If I could change the form of fire, I could probably do that."

"Can't you just do that motion with a regular fireball?"

"Yes, but..." Elsword shook his head. "In Phoenix form, it would be much larger, faster, and agile."

We spent the rest of class and well into PE arguing about the details of the Phoenix. Small things like, 'what if it hits you?' And 'you don't even know what a Phoenix looks like!' But I enjoyed talking to him. It reminded me of my friends back at home, who I would always argue with.

"Well, what if it looks like this?" Elsword said. We were sketching every minute aspect of the firebird.

"No, the excess flame would just be messy. You would get your allies on fire." He had drawn it with huge flares on the side, exclaiming that it would lift the enemy.

"True." Elsword erased some things on the page.

"But putting flares on the floor would be cool. For another move, maybe? If you could walk with fire at your feet-"

"Okay, lovebirds! Pick up your bow and shoot now!" Banthus barked. Elsword and I awkwardly looked at each other, then started frantically shooting. Lovebirds? How embarrassing!

"So I... Uh... Hear you had an incident in the cafeteria two days ago." Elsword said.

"Oh. That." I blushed. I had hoped that no one else would hear of THAT thing. "I just have some anxiety issues sometimes" I falsely laughed.

"That's why you weren't at the dining hall yesterday?"

"No! I had stuff." I'm such a terrible liar.

"Could you at least give effort into your lies?" Elsword chuckled.

"Eh..."

The rest of the day went relatively fast, between Rena's rants about Raven, and Elsword's teases. I decided to go to the dining hall after classes, hoping I wouldn't faint again.

"Oh god." I mumbled and saw stars as I walked in to the crowd of people. I almost fell when someone helped me regain balance.

"You sure are clumsy."

"Speka! Are you okay?" I was so relieved she was back.

"Yep! The devil just can't digest food well, so..." She whispered to me.

"I see. In glad you are feeling better." I beamed. We went to the table with Rena, Eve, Chung, Raven, and Elsword. Rena's face lit up as we approached.

"Yippee! You came!"

I smiled, and sat at the seat across from Elsword.

"I guess I owe you five dollars, Raven." He said.

Raven guffawed, "pay up." He punched Elsword playfully on the arm, then turned to Rena.

"You didn't think I'd come? That's cold." I hissed at him. He shrugged and continued eating his food. Suddenly, Rena stood up at the head of the table.

"Okay! Ariel said we need a group of seven for our dungeons."

"Huh?" I stupidly asked.

"You didn't hear? We are going to start monthly dungeons next week. It's where groups split up and each clear a specific place filled with monsters. It usually takes two or three days to finish, so we only do one per month." Rena put her hands on her hips. "They underestimated us and gave us White Mist Swamp. So I think we should clear that in... maybe two hours?"

I had heard of White Mist Swamp before. Apparently, there are only Phorus, which are gerbils that absentmindedly swing swords. Considering our group, we could easily beat the dungeon in two hours.

"Eve has read that Ariel wishes to observe our skills. Every group will receive a beginning dungeon so she may place us in a more advanced one." Eve stated.

"Then let's clear it in an hour!" Raven boasted. "I'm sure I could solo that thing easily."

The group laughed, and we set a date to meet at the dungeon- Thursday of next week. When I went back to the dorms, Rena, Eve, Speka and I exchanged our classes and skills in the main room.

"Combat ranger. My special skill is Sharp Fall." Rena winked, and poked Eve. "And you?"

"Code Architecture. I specialize in

Space Wrench." Eve held her drones in her lap, petting them.

"I'm a High Magician. I use Blizzard Shower." I said.

"Dark Magician..." Speka warily stammered. "Death Field."

"Dark Mage? What's that?" Rena cheered.

"I can't... Say."

"But you are in our dungeon group! You have to!"

Speka thought about it a while, then explained her contract with the devil. Rena looked shocked, while Eve held a blank expression on her face.

"Eve understands this contract. The side effects can be fatal." Eve stated.

"I know. But the other choice is fatal, too." Speka squirmed around.

"Yes. Rena, Aisha, let's leave Speka to her meeting."

"Meeting?" I asked.

"I... Uh... The devil requested a talk with me." We left to our rooms, leaving Speka alone in the main room.

"Eve, what's going to happen to Speka?" I eagerly asked.

"I don't know. The devil locked me out of her thoughts."

"Well, best not worry about it." Rena waved her hand an silently went into her room. I did likewise, while Eve went to the kitchen.

'Right... Robots don't sleep.' I thought to myself. I prepped for bed, and then quickly fell asleep.

I woke up, feeling as if I slept five minutes, finding it to be seven a.m. already. I walked to first period in a gloom of fog and drizzle. When I saw Elsword blankly sitting in his seat, my spirits rose a bit.

"You go to sleep late." He said, without looking at me.

"What?" I stuttered, shocked.

"Your room is on the side of the dorm building across from mine in the boys' dorms."

"And you were looking at me!?"

"It's hard not to. You always leave your blinds open, as if you were waiting for a rainbow to come in or something."

I pointed him and rudely said, "Creeper! Don't watch me!"

"But you are so interesting..." He laughed, and started looking for something in his books.

I blushed even though it was just a tease. When I sat down, he pulled out a paper and handed it to me.

"I was refining the Phoenix." Elsword said. I looked at it, and was stunned by its perfection.

"Whoa... Do you draw?" He looked at me as if I was stupid. I replayed what I just said, and realized the idiocy in it.

"Yes, because I can't write a Phoenix." He sarcastically kidded.

"No, I mean, are you an artist?" I peaked at the tiny drawing of a face at the bottom. It looked as if it should be in a manga book.

"Kind of... Whatever."

"It's really good!" I handed the paper back, and he just grumbled. But I could tell he was flattered a bit.

"Do you have any hobbies?" He asked quietly.

"No. Other than magic, I don't." I lied.

"You're lying." Elsword chuckled. He pointed his perfect ruby eyes up at me in a devious way, and raised an eyebrow. "You are really bad at that, you know." I gnawed on my lip, hoping he wouldn't ask again. I really did not want to tell him anything he might think is odd.

"Hello? Earth to Aisha." He poked my cheek, breaking my silence.

"It's not that important, so…" I stuttered. But Elsword kept his gaze at me, and it felt as if he was going to burn me with his eyes. "Fine… I play the chess."

He burst out in laughter, "I see."

"What!? It's not bad!" My face turned a bright pink. "I bet you can't even play! You are too primal to know."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He leaned back in his chair. "How about sports?"

"You answer first." I crossed my arms immaturely, and curiously waited for him to speak.

"I do track. But they haven't put up the extra classes yet."

"Eh? I swim. I was planning on signing up in teams, too."

Elsword looked at me up and down, and laughed, "I can't wait to see you in a swimsuit." I blushed heavily with embarrassment. With all my power, I kicked him under the desk so the teacher would not see, and I stuck my tongue out rudely. He flinched in pain, and then grimaced at me.

"You're so juvenile!" I exclaimed. What compelled him to say that!?

"Says the girl who acts like a toddler." Elsword pointed at me, hissing.

"Well, you're…. A…. Cat!" I blurted. I did not even regret what I said, because his reaction was so worth it.

"Squirrel!" Elsword pursed his lips, and scowled. I growled, and then turned away from him. I could never know what was with his attitude!

"Just kidding." He whispered, and his voice sounded really near. I slowly rotated my head to Elsword, seeing he was right on my shoulder. Blush rose to my cheeks, as my temperature rose from anger. He was so warm, it made me surprised. He was expecting me to fight back, but I didn't want to play into his act. I quickly scooted to the side, and his head tumbled off. I could tell he was ticked when he got back up.

"Why is it impossible to keep you in a stable personality?"

"What about you?" I was infuriated. At some points, I was captivated by him. At others, I was completely angered. "You are so nice half of the time, and an idiot the other half!"

Surprisingly, he held out his hand and held it out to me. "Truce?" I thought about it a while, and wondered if he would keep his word.

"What if you break your promise?" I asked, keeping a straight expression.

"You have to kill a rabbit with your bare hands, and eat it. _Raw_."

"Gross!" disgust crawled across my face. "But… Possible." I smirked, and shook his hand.

"You are pretty different, Aisha." Elsword chuckled, and started drawing on his notebook.

The next few days, nothing out of place happened. Elsword kept his truce so far, and Rena continued constantly talking with Raven. I've heard Chung try to spark a conversation with Eve a few times, but she just simply answers. Because she lacks emotion and well… sense, Eve has not picked up on the fact that Chung is crushing on her. Ariel confirmed our dungeon appointment, and assigned us quests. She said we needed to practice on Saturday, the day before homecoming. My stomach had butterflies just thinking of seeing Elsword alone for training on Sunday.

During Friday lunch, the boys told us their classes.

"Magic knight." Elsword yawned, then punched Chung.

"I'm a shooting guardian." Chung smoothly said. "And I am of the Seiker family." The entire table stared at him in awe.

"Seikers? The royal bloodline?" I gaped.

"Chung Seiker, pleasure to meet you." Eve held her hand out to Chung.

"We… already met." Chung looked at her with confusion.

"Eve's database contains information on Chung, Rena, Raven, Aisha, Elsword, and Speka. Eve has no Data of Chung _Seiker_."

"You really work like a computer, don't you?" Chung laughed, while Eve sat motionless.

"Nasod. Eve works like a Nasod." She corrected him.

Rena grinned, and pointed to Raven. "What about you?"

"Of course, my name is Raven. I'm the over taker." He stroked his hair, as if he was a chick magnet. To Rena, however, he was.

"Oh yeah, Raven!" Rena smiled nervously. "Since homecoming is so near… Do you want to come with me?" Her eyes twinkled with hope. She threatened to spill tears if Raven refused.

"I've only known you for five days. But… sure."

Rena gleefully laughed, saying, "It's love at first sight, right?" Raven awkwardly looked at her, not moving a muscle. "Or not." She laughed. Rena was so bold that it was just weird sometimes.

We left the cafeteria when it closed, and planned a time to meet for practice. "10:38 a.m. on the nose" as Rena put it. I woke on Saturday at 9:30, just enough time to get there ten minutes late. I met the group near Camilla, the "sparring queen". We all had our class promotion armor on, and our best weapons.

"Hello, hello! I'm Camilla! And what would you like to do today? It's a great day for sparring!"

"We are testing in the practice room, one at a time." Rena smiled radiantly. Her armor was green, white, and black. She had a tight short sleeve shirt, baggy shorts, and boots that reached her ankles. Her long, blond hair was tied behind her back so it reached the floor. She held a sleek bow, with four panels of wood on it that were painted white and green. Rena looked bloodthirsty and confident, rather than her usual personality- soft and caring. She waited impatiently while Camilla checked her clipboard.

"Okay! I found an open room for you! Report to center six D. Have fun! Be safe!"

We entered the building behind Camilla, with Rena in front. When we opened the glass door, an aroma of sweat and anger fumed into our faces. All around us, there were rooms made of bullet proof glass, so spectators could see the students engage in a battle. Teachers and students, thrilled with blood lust, loudly cheered in the main auditorium. It was a room made of brick, with windows that we could peak through. Taking turns, we looked in the room. There were at least a dozen bleachers, packed with ferocious guests that rooted for one of the two battling warriors. At the top of the room, there was a board with red print, reading _'Arena'_. There were two people fighting in the ring of the room, so ferocious that it looked like they would kill. But when the winning competitor laid the final strike on the other fighter, a barrier blocked any damage. The winner lowered his weapon, and nurses came to carry out the fainted victim. While the loser was carted out, the other competitor cheered, and was awarded a medal. No one worried of the unconscious person, only the winner. It was all too barbaric; I could not believe Velder would get entertainment from _that_.

Our training room, however, was a white dome in the far wing of the building. It was separated into two semi circles- one side for us to watch, the other side for the fighter to attack monsters. Rena insisted to go first, and it was obvious she was the only one who was eager to fight. She entered the combat portion of the dome, and the overhead repeated a recorded tape.

'_Welcome to room Six-D. Execute the following monster in a single skill of your choosing.'_

Rena smirked darkly as an innocent mushroom mutation was beamed to the floor. Leaping high in the air, she spun around swiftly. "Sharp fall!" Rena forcefully stomped on the mushroom, dazing it. Dust swirled around her as she touched the ground, proving that her skill could stun many enemies in range. Raven followed after her, eliminating a mushroom quickly (but not cleanly) with Valkyrie's Javelin. On Chung's turn, he used Comet Crasher, releasing half a dozen cannonballs that punctured the mushroom. Eve, however, refused to leave her seat. She sent out Oberon, her assistant, to slay the mushroom. Ordering him _'Space Wrench'_, the Nasod created a hypersonic X that blasted the enemy to dust. Speka chanted _'death field' _several times on her turn, creating a purple aura around her. There was a faded image of a reaper in front of her, and then the mushroom mysteriously fainted.

I trembled to the combat section, hoping I would not mess up. In the center of the area, I lifted my staff to the ceiling and commanded, "Blizzard shower!" The tip of the staff frosted, and slowly spread the cold air around the entire dome. Bullets of ice suddenly rained down, impaling the mushroom everywhere. When the shower ended, the mushroom mutation tumbled to the ground, frozen. I smiled slightly with pleasure and walked back to the other side of the room. Elsword passed me, confidently wielding his large sword. A new mushroom replaced my frozen one, and he lifted his sword high in the air above it. "Sword fire!" Elsword slammed his blade on the mutation, and flames engulfed the entire semi-circle. I could smell the singe of the fire melting the ice that I had left.

_So, that's what he is capable of._


	4. Journeys of Surprise! Dokki!

**Everyone: happy one-week birthday, Velder high academy!  
Sami: o_o one week? That's not a lot… anyways, in case you wanted additional info on the characters… :D  
-**

**Aisha****- **_**14, high mage**_**. She is very forgetful, and often regrets and ponders on useless things. But she is very affectionate and smart! Her favorite season is the winter, even though she hates the cold.  
****Elsword****- **_**15, magic knight**_**. He is really kind, and hates hurting people he loves. But he hides it all, because he is very reserved since his Sister's death. He acts tough, but is pretty nice.  
****Rena****-**_** 15, combat ranger**_**. She is very popular, and never upsets anyone. She is the 'big sister' figure to Aisha. Aisha, along with everyone else, admires Rena. But in battle, Rena loves fighting and blood!  
****Raven****- **_**16, over taker**_**. He is loved widely throughout the school, and knows it. He is an airhead with a big ego! But he can be very nice and brave in battle and to his friends. He is fine with his own sacrifices.  
****Eve****- **_**13, code architecture**_**. She claims not to have emotions, because she is a Nasod. But she shows them sometimes throughout the story! Eve herself is not strong, and relies on her group to protect her. But she is deadly with robots!  
****Chung****- **_**14, deadly chaser**_**. He is very sweet and honest. He treats everything like a mission, because in his childhood, he would pretend to be like his military brother. Many girls admire him, but he notices no romantic attention because he is loyal to Eve. Eve doesn't know yet, though!**

Since 9:40 p.m., I had been periodically checking my phone. It was Sunday, the day of Homecoming. All the girls in the dorm, even Speka, had left to the celebration hall for the Dance. But today, I had planned to practice fire techniques with Elsword rather than dance.

Lost in thought, I was startled by the buzz of my phone at 10:05. _'Boo.' _Elsword said.

'_You got my number back?' _I had expected his text, but I acted surprised.

'_I stole it back from Rena. And your blinds are still open, you know.' _He was watching me? I quickly shut my blinds and texted him back,

'_Stalker! Anyways, let's meet behind the dorms?'_

'_Race you there' _

I quickly slipped on my gray sweatshirt, and tied my hair into a bun. Knowing he would beat me, I leisurely walked down the stairs to the ground level of the dorms. When I reached the empty field behind the wings, I realized Elsword was not there yet. I sat down, waiting for him to arrive.

"You're late" Someone whispered awfully close to my ear, behind me. I muffled a shriek, so I would not drag any attention to the back. I was relieved when I saw it was only Elsword. "Scaredy cat." He chuckled, and walked around in front of me.

"Idiot!" My face was red with embarrassment, and I was so grateful that it was dark out so he could not see.

"Idiot? That's not very nice."

"Sorry… I'll go find a rabbit to kill now." I scowled at him.

"No, I'll give you one more slip up." Elsword jumped to his feet, and put his hands on his hips. "So let's get started, shall we?"

I stood up, and asked, "Okay. You can only form the fire into a sphere, right?"

Elsword held out his hand, and created a large fireball. "I don't know why it is so instable when I change its form. It always goes back into this circular form."

I inspected the fire, and reported, "That's because you are using too much of its energy to increase the size. You need to work on having a larger core inside the fireball, and then it will be more appropriate to change the form." I formed an example fireball, and he stared at it in awe. Elsword tried to change his fireball to the form mine was in, but quickly lost control.

"Ack!" The fire fell to the floor burning the grass. He tried stamping it out, but it wasn't working too well. I subconsciously summoned water, and poured it on the fire. I didn't notice that he was right above it, and he got soaked, too. Elsword turned to me with a ferocious look.

"Oops…" I laughed, hoping it would calm him. "That was effective…"

"Of course it was." He growled, and then had a devious expression. "Thanks, Aisha. You are so helpful!" He forcefully hugged me, drenching me in water.

I laughed, "Stupid! Get off of me!"

"Am I stupid? I think you need to go find a rabbit to eat." He teased, and shook the water off of his hair onto me.

"How come you don't get penalized when _you _do something rash?" I lightly pushed him off of me.

"Because I don't count." He laughed, and I hissed at him. I took off my sweatshirt, and let it on the ground to dry.

"Whatever. You still are just like a cat…"

"And you are a squirrel. Do you know what cats do to squirrels?" He leaned into me, holding a dangerous smirk. I stared at him, and could not hide the childish fear on my face. "You are so fun to play with." He laughed, leaning backwards. I crossed my arms and immaturely pouted.

We continued talking and practicing until the midnight bell rang. "It's midnight already!?" I exclaimed, appalled. "I have to go!"

"Why is that?"

I bit my lip and fidgeted. "The students get back from homecoming at 12:30. If I'm not back by then, they'll get… ideas."

"Mmm… okay" Elsword lounged on the grass, toying with some fire. "Bye bye, Cinderella."

I blushed, and ran off. I knew he was teasing me, but I could not help but be embarrassed a little. I reached the front of the dorms, teleporting in to avoid setting off the motion sensitive lights. I darted up the stairs, and shut my room door. I opened my window blinds and looked at the dormitory wing for the boys. There was one room light on, obviously Elsword's. I could see a small shadow in his window moving around, and I stared at it for a while.

My phone gave off a silent vibration in my hand, and I snapped out of my daze.

'_I see you looking at me.'_

'_What? I'm not. Please don't bump your ego any higher than it is.'_

'_Is there a rabbit in your room? You need to find one and eat it. Btw, I have your jacket.' _My sweatshirt! I took it off and must have forgotten it. _'It smells like you.' _He sent. I have a smell? I hope it wasn't a bad scent.

'_Don't smell it! Can you give it to me in math?' _I absentmindedly wrote. Then I remembered what it would be like carrying that dull coat throughout the entire day. _'Actually, just give it to me later' _I quickly responded.

'_K. and stop looking at me'_

'_Stop looking at me!' _I saw his light go off, and I shut mine off shortly after. As I laid my head down to sleep, I heard a wave of exciting girls enter the building. They were exclaiming how fun Homecoming was, and exchanging experiences.

'_I've had some experiences, too.' _I thought to myself as I drifted to sleep.

I left to math a few minutes earlier than usual so I could talk to Elsword before class started. We talk during class, but still. When I entered, I noticed he wasn't in his chair yet. I placed my thing on my desk, and started reading a novel that I had found in my luggage. When I was halfway through a page, Elsword quoted the book.

"The lady's countenance courted the myriad of men, thus they capitulate at her beauty; by the third prance of her, the men lost their indefatigable impediments. Through the ardent of her voice, she recited, 'May'st you unhand thy fiends? I beg you to release the burden-' " I was startled by his sudden end appearance, and angered that he embarrassed me by reading my book to the entire class. So I clamped it shut, swirled around, and bonked him on the head with it.

"How come every morning, you are always so bitter?" Elsword grumbled as he rubbed his head.

"How long were you here?" I asked, ignoring his rhetorical question.

"I'm always here first." He smirked. "I was hiding behind you. You aren't very observational, so it's easy to sneak up and scare you."

I scowled at him, "why are you here so early?"

"I get up to run at 5 for an hour." He sat in his chair, flipping a pencil as he did the first day. I stared at him, thinking about what he said. Elsword ran around the campus for an hour every day? I assumed he was the lazy type, not dedicated too much. He certainly acted like it.

"Am I hot today?" Elsword comically said, and I noticed I had been staring at him.

"Oh, please. I was just surprised you were actually interested in some things. You act so bland." I spit out. I did not intend to be so rude, but the last thing I wanted was for him to know I liked him.

Elsword smirked, and leaned terribly close to me. I could feel his breath as he exhaled, while I did not breathe at all. "I'm interested in _many _things." Elsword seductively raised his eyebrows, and I could feel blush rise to my cheeks. As the teacher entered the class, Elsword deeply chuckled and leaned back to his seat._ 'It was just a tease_' I thought to myself and sighed. I wish he could be serious some times, just so I would not have to ponder on whether he was teasing me or not.

"Hello? Aisha?" Elsword wave his hand in front of my face.

"What!?" I sharply inhaled, snapping out of my thoughts.

"Are you signing up for any clubs today?"

"The sign ups are today?" I bluntly asked.

"As I said before, un-observational." He laughed, and put his hands behind his maroon hair. "During P.E., we can sign up for clubs."

"I guess you are signing up for art and track?"

"Not art. I don't like people telling me what to do."

"Then you'll never get better."

"I don't need to. I draw for the fun of it, not the outcome. Anyways, I'm signing up for track. You?"

"I'll sign up for swim team, if they have it there. I haven't seen a pool on campus, though." I gnawed on my cheek when I remembered his comment of swimsuits last week. Changing the topic for swimming, I asked, "Why do you run every day?"

"A while ago, I promised my sister that I would get stronger and faster. I've been running and training since then." Elsword had a stern expression, and firmly gripped his pencil.

"That's nice," I smiled. "She must proud of you."

"I hope she is..." He trailed off, looking to the ceiling. I stopped the questions there, afraid I was digging at a sensitive spot in his past.

"Oh yeah... Aisha, I think I'm getting closer to the proper fire form." Elsword said, and moved his hand under the desk. He cautiously created a fireball that was close to perfect.

"Yeah, that's pretty good-" I started. Lowe interrupted me with a cold tone.

"Mr. Elsword, is there something you would like to share?"

"No, sir. Aisha was explaining this subject to me." He smoothly answered.

"Would you care to tell us the answer?"

Elsword studied the problem for a few seconds, and then calmly responded, "twelve sevenths." Lowe nodded, and continued teaching the class.

"How did you convince him?" I whispered to Elsword.

"I'm just a good liar, while you suck at it." He smirked and muffled a laugh. "You are so clueless." I growled at him, and crossed my arms. The bell rang shortly after, and we went to P.E. Rather than bows, the gym was filled with stands that advertised a particular hobby. As Elsword signed up for track, I staggered around the gym, looking for swim.

"Just as I thought... no swim teams." I mumbled to myself. I looked around, and saw that Rena was signing up for cheer leading and drama. Typical. I also saw Speka signing up for a club that specializes in poison and galvanism. It's hard not to know what things she was interested in.

Later that day, I made my way to FACS. I noticed a sweet atmosphere, and kitchens that were prepped for cooking.

"Are we cooking today?" I asked Rena and Raven.

"Silly! The teacher has been telling us about this for the last 3 classes! We are making cookies today." Rena cheerfully replied. I hadn't been paying attention in the last couple of classes; I was sleeping. The dog-teacher's voice was so muted, and the classroom was so warm that it's technically asking for people to sleep.

A quarter into the period, each table was led into a kitchen. I was in a group with Rena and Raven, and was assigned to the batter.

"Good thing I can't burn this..." I muttered to myself. I followed the instructions on the paper that was given out, and I prayed I didn't do anything wrong. When I was finished, I handed the batter to Rena. The smelled it, and a small tint of disgust spread across her face.

"Aisha... Did you by any chance put in salt instead of sugar?"

Oops. I read the ingredient I had used, and it lightly said 'Salt'. Next to it, there was an identical container that read 'Sugar'.

Rena laughed, "Let's remake it, then."

She helped me make the batter while Raven fiddled with the stove, and within ten minutes, it was ready. Rena held an OK sign to me, and formed it into oval shapes. Rena was so inspirational, it's hard not to see why every girl on campus admires her.

At the end of the day, I unconsciously walked around the campus. My mind fluttered to many topics. Just as fast as it went to one, it quickly left to another. When I snapped of thoughts, I realized that I had wandered to the track field. Lost, I climbed to the bleachers and decided to watch the people practicing on the field. Rena, cheer leading leader, was gleefully practicing her new cheer moves. I saw a red haired boy easily striding in front of the others around the track, and I gasped from shock when I realized who it was.

"Elsword!?" I quietly exclaimed to myself. I had forgotten he signed up for track. Almost the instant I said his name, Elsword noticed me sitting on the bleachers. He stopped running, letting the others pass him. He grinned and waved at me as if stifling a laugh. I just sat there, staring. The coach then commanded Elsword to continue running, and he quickly regained his place in the front. I could feel slight blush rising to my cheeks, and I reassured myself that I wasn't as important to him as I thought. '_He just teases you. For fun,_' I told myself. '_You are just too childish_' I knew I only met Elsword last week, but I could not manage to act like myself whenever I was around him. Maybe it's just hormones? '_Yeah, right._' I covered my face with my hands and sighed.

On Thursday, June twentieth, the group and I met at the field outside of White Mist Swamp. It was a beautiful day, not a day to slaughter dozens of monsters. We had been excused from school to clear dungeons along with six other groups. They were doing intervals, where six groups a day would be sent to a dungeon since this Monday. With the 800 kids, it would take a few weeks to finish the process.  
When the large door opened to let us in to the swamp, Rena and Raven dashed in first. It was obvious that they were thirsty for blood to spill, and this was fun for them. We all gathered at the start of the area, and checked our maps.

"So, it's just a straight line? Ain't that easy!" Speka stated. She twirled her staff in her fingers, and then aimed it at the first group of Phorus that approached her. She shot two fireballs at them, and they dizzily charged at her. Speka smirked, and casted a large black hole at them.  
"The princess gal." She stuck her tongue out at the dead Phorus, and continued forward with Rena and Raven. I started following her, but Elsword grabbed my wrist.

"Don't go forward. You're going to think I'm crazy, but I smell… a giant tree there."

"Oh, please. I never heard of anything like that." He was still cautious, but we walked ahead a few steps. Almost immediately after we went forward, we were unwillingly sprung up to the tree lines. I looked down, and noticed an _enormous tree_ below us! It had leaped out of the ground, lifting us to the top. "Elsword? Is this… supposed to happen?" I whispered, making a point not to get the tree's attention.

"I don't know… Is that?" He slowly lifted his finger to a leaping black figure in the forest top. It was swinging from its tail like a monkey. "Where are Rena, Raven and Speka?"

I glanced down, shocked by the height, but saw the three fighting in the far off distance. "Too far for them to hear us. Where are Chung and Eve?"

"At the boss already, I think." He gestured to the explosions and sonic waves in the boss room.

"That's a problem. I might be able to teleport down, but how would you get off?" I asked. Elsword shook his head, and motioned to the monkey.

"That monkey will make sure we won't get down without a fight. I think…" He stood up, and lifted his sword in the direction of the beast. Almost instantly, it leaped down from the treetops to our surface. Elsword slashed at the monkey, but failed to hit it due to its agility, and landed a strike on the tree. The tree wailed, and violently jounced us around. "Aisha. Bind the tree in place." The monkey sprung at him, and Elsword placed another strike on the tree accidentally. We were almost shaken off by the tree's flailing. "_Now!_" He commanded. Without wasting another second, I ordered, "Binding circle!" the tree was frozen in place, allowing Elsword to freely attack the Monkey King.

"Sword fire!" Before Elsword could crash fire on the ground, I exclaimed, "No! The tree will burn. We'll all fall off." He grumbled at me, then exchanged scornful glances with the Monkey King. It was licking its carnivorous teeth, cackling like a hyena.

"What do you suppose we should do? The monkey's not directly fighting us unless we attack. But it won't let us escape unless we kill it."

"And if we move forward, the bind will be released." I sighed, realizing the bind did more harm than good. But Elsword nodded, and extended his blade to the monkey.

"Wind blade!" Much to my surprise, the sword _doubled_ in size and pierced the Monkey King. I followed him with Magic Missile, which chased down the monkey as he fled.

"Nice." He high-fived me, then we faced the problem of getting down.

"Actually… I don't think I can teleport all the way down without breaking a bone." I chuckled, and nervously scratched my head. "But I can use magic dust to float down." I thought of the only possibility and bit my lip.

"And how would I get down…" His expression was replaced with shock when he found the only possibility, too. "Oh."

"Ow! Elsword! You're going to tear off my arm!" I gasped, floating down from the frozen tree corpse. Elsword was tightly grabbing on to my wrist, since we both refused for me to carry him.

"I'd rather not die." He gave a strained laugh. I sighed, and then realized I was losing altitude. My mana was being quickly drained and we still had a few feet until the ground.

"Um, I think we may need a crash landing…" I stuttered, and warily tried to continue floating down. "I'm running out of mana."

"That's not good. Can you teleport us as far down as you can?" I nodded, and used the sliver of mana I had left to teleport down. But I had teleported too close to the brick wall, and we crashed into the hard surface. "Ouch…" I rubbed my head and creaked open my eyes. I gasped and attempted to struggle up. Elsword was right on top of me, dazed from the recent impact.

"Huh?" he mumbled. I started to order him to move, but Rena's boastful laugh came first.

"Ahaha! What have we here? I hope I'm not intruding!" The rest of the group snickered along with her. My face turned bright red, and I harshly slapped Elsword to get him up.

"Ouch! What is it!?" He said as he lifted his head. Elsword chuckled when he saw my face, and lifted himself off of me. "You know, while you five were fighting this measly dungeon, we were actually approached by a giant monkey?" The gang didn't believe him, so we spent the rest of the walk back to campus trying to convince them.

"Well, that was a sure lovely fiction. See ya'll at the dining hall." Speka, Eve and Rena cackled as they walked to the female dormitory wing. I followed behind them, still red from the incident. When I reached my room to prepare for dinner, I heard I slight tapping noise on my window. My jacket! It was hanging outside, firmly tied on a branch in front of my window. How on earth did Elsword get it there!? My room is all the way on the third floor. Filled with enough confusion, I decided to neglect all of the insane theories flooding my head. I grabbed my sweatshirt, and headed to the dining hall for a well-deserved meal.


End file.
